Bradley Stolbach and Reese Minshew, among others, in their study Complex Trauma Exposure and Symptoms in Urban Traumatized Children: A Preliminary Test of Proposed Criteria for Developmental Trauma Disorder in Journal of Traumatic Stress (Volume 26, Issue 4) provide preliminary evidence to support Developmental Trauma Disorder (DTD) as a new diagnostic category. Children who had been exposed chronically to violence, maltreatment, and disruptions of protective caregiving were much more likely to meet the proposed DTD symptom criteria than other children. This field trial suggests that the proposed construct of DTD is useful for describing the symptoms induced by ongoing traumatic stressors and disrupted caregiving and that the proposed symptom criteria can differentiate children with histories of exposure to developmental trauma from other trauma-exposed children.

Megan Goslin, Carla Smith Stover, Steven Berkowitz, and Steve Marans are authors of Identifying Youth at Risk for Difficulties Following a Traumatic Event: Pre-event Factors are Associated with Acute Symptomatology published in Journal of Traumatic Stress (Volume 26, Issue 4). This study examined factors that place children at risk following exposure to a wide range of potentially traumatic events (PTEs) to assist professionals in screening and referring youth most in need of intervention. An exclusive focus on the current traumatic experience is inadequate to determine children's risk. Using data from baseline assessments collected on 112 youth presenting for clinical evaluation within a month of a PTE and their non-offending caregivers, authors tested the following factors in 3 hierarchical regression models: index PTE category, history of traumatic exposure, pre-index event functioning, and parenting behaviors. Prior trauma exposure, pre-index event functioning, and hostile parenting were uniquely related to children's symptoms in the acute posttraumatic period after controlling for time since the event and child age, but trauma category was not. Implications for identifying and referring children at high risk for poor outcomes in the early aftermath of a PTE are discussed. An exclusive focus on the event is insufficient and more comprehensive understanding of the child and family is required.

Courtenay Cavanaugh, Silvia Martins, Hanno Petras, and Jacqueline Campbell have authored Mental Disorders Associated with Subpopulations of Women Affected by Violence and Abuse in Journal of Traumatic Stress (Volume 26, Issue 4). Violence against women is a major public health problem associated with mental disorders. Few studies have examined the heterogeneity of interpersonal violence and abuse (IVA) among women and associated mental health problems. Latent class analysis was used to identify subpopulations of women with similar lifetime histories of IVA victimization and to examine 10 associated past-year mental disorders. Participants were 19,816 adult women who participated in Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). The 3-class model was best supported by the data. Class 1 (6.7%) had a high probability of witnessing domestic violence as a child. Class 2 (21.8%) had a low probability of all events except lifetime sexual assault. Class 3 (71.5%) had a low probability for all events. Mental disorders were more common among members of Classes 1 and 2 than Class 3. For example, members in Class 1 were approximately 8 and 9 times more likely than members in Class 3 to have had PTSD or a drug use disorder, respectively, during the past year. Of the 10 mental disorders, 5 were more common among members of Class 1 than of Class 2. Findings suggest the mental health consequences of IVA among women are extensive and interventions should be tailored for distinct subpopulations affected by IVA.